Assessing the Mindset Imperial British Fiction

The High Imperial era of Britain was, like any other historical era, heavily chronicled and mythologized by writers of the time. It was one of Britain’s most dynamic and defining passages, and consequently generated a proliferation of written works. One of the most defining characteristics of the literature of Imperial Britain is the ubiquitous self-deception and arrogance underpinning and essential to the Imperial ethos.

The High period of British Imperialism was marked by a more aggressive and militant form of conquest than that of the Low Period, which centered around a largely mercantile approach. Rather than focusing on establishing exclusive markets and trade routes, Britain began to actively seize territories from indigenous peoples, most often by means of force, and to secure their control by means of military and governmental presence. By this means, Britain ensured its preexisting trade routes in colonized territories, and was able to generate new capital.